Alief ISD presents special-education increases in evaluations, sets targets to improve compliance
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Summary
District special-education leaders reported 1,364 evaluations completed or in process this year, described compliance steps under SPP 11 and House Bill 3928, and outlined dyslexia training and classroom support strategies.
Alief ISD special-education leaders briefed the board March 4 on evaluation activity, compliance and supports for students with disabilities, including dyslexia-specific instruction and transition services.
Robin Jenkins, the district’s director of special education, said the district completed 845 initial evaluations and had 519 in process this school year — 1,364 total so far — compared with 1,883 evaluations completed last year. "We are doing a very good job with our MTSS/RTI teams of looking at multiple sources of data and making sure that we're making good decisions when recommending students for testing," Jenkins said.
Jenkins told trustees the district remains short of the 100% timely-completion standard for State Performance Plan indicator SPP 11 and has initiated corrective-action steps to reduce missed timelines. She described goals to reduce missed timelines from 54 missed timelines last year to 10 or fewer and to hold initial eligibility meetings within required timelines.
On dyslexia, Jenkins said the district has trained roughly 19 special-education teachers in evidence-based dyslexia instruction and maintains a trained dyslexia lead at every elementary and intermediate campus. Jenkins described varied service models: elementary students who require direct evidence-based reading instruction receive a 30‑minute pull-out four days a week, while many secondary students receive in-class support during their RLA block so they do not miss electives.
The director also flagged a local-level accountability tool (the RDA monitoring framework) and said Alief remains at determination level 2, an improvement from a determination level 4 in 2021. Jenkins announced a transition fair March 22 for students ages 3–21 to help families plan postsecondary supports and accommodations.
Trustees praised the presentation and asked for regular updates on how corrective actions affect timelines and recruitment of certified special-education staff. Administration said it will continue training and monitoring and will provide periodic board notes on progress.